1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mouthpiece containing lamps and heat resistors to expose electromagnetic radiation to effect oral treatment and, specifically, to aid the activation of an adhesive whitening gel to whiten teeth. The present invention may also be used to kill harmful bacteria in the mouth through the electromagnetic radiation exposure and the activation of various formulations. The mouthpiece adjusts manually to accommodate a broad range of user sizes, yet seals the treatment area from oxygen escape.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional teeth whitening in the dental office takes up to two hours, may be painful and is often costly with noticeable regression beginning in about seven days after the treatment. Improved whitening results are experienced in a professional setting using white light in the 300-990 nm range, but this procedure may be costly and time consuming. Over-the-counter products suffer from other deficiencies, such as difficulty of use, irritation to the soft tissue and the root surfaces and the results usually take up to 14 days. Often, there is only minimal improvement. The consumer needs a customizable whitening alternative that yields results similar to professional whitening, but at the convenience of the home.
Dentist-supervised tooth whitening involves the controlled use of carbamide or hydrogen peroxide, tailored to a particular patient. Dentists may administer in-office treatments or at-home treatments. Before the tooth whitening treatment, most dentists clean the teeth, fill cavities, and ensure the patient's gums are healthy.
Most in-office tooth whitening systems use 15 to 35 percent hydrogen peroxide gels, coupled with a high intensity light to expedite the bleaching chemical reaction.
The in-office whitening procedure involves the dentist gently cleaning the teeth with pumice and then applying a protective barrier on the gums. The dentist then applies hydrogen peroxide paste on the teeth for 15-20 minutes, rinses the hydrogen peroxide off, and usually reapplies hydrogen peroxide 3-4 times. The procedure can achieve about four to six shades of whitening after one 60-80 minute treatment and the patient often times experiences electric-type pain called zingers due to the long exposure to the light and heat.
The other professionally administered whitening technique is the at-home tray and gel system. This will often use 10 to 20 percent carbamide peroxide gels that also contain glycerin, carbomer, sodium hydroxide, water, and flavoring agents. Some gels that contain more than 10 percent carbamide peroxide will also include sodium fluoride to reduce sensitivity and strengthen teeth.
To begin the at-home procedure, the dentist takes impressions (molds) of the mouth, and then has soft, custom mouth trays made. In administering treatment, the user places a thin ribbon of the gel into the tray and wears it for two hours during the day, or while sleeping. Most whitening occurs in one to two weeks. In difficult cases, trays may need to be worn for up to six weeks. Since the peroxide gel is placed into the custom mouth tray and then seated into the mouth, the gel moves onto the roots of the teeth and the soft tissues of the mouth, causing sensitivity in the majority of users.
A combination of in-office and at-home systems can achieve up to 5-7 shades of whitening. Such a procedure is considered safe and effective when monitored by a dentist.
Dentist supervised systems have advantages and disadvantages when compared to over-the-counter tooth whitening products. The main advantage of the dentist supervised system is that the dentist can determine if tooth whitening should be performed and if it will be effective for the patient. Patients with decayed teeth, infected gums, white spots on their teeth, and multiple tooth colored fillings or crowns (caps) on the front teeth may not be good candidates for tooth whitening.
The dentist can also help decide what type of tooth whitening is required (in-office, at-home or both) and the concentration of the whitening gels. The dentist can monitor and treat patients who experience sensitivity to the whitening agents and modify the procedure for those who are having difficulty getting optimal results. Finally, the dentist can help the patient explore porcelain or resin veneers, tooth colored fillings, gum lifts and tooth shaping used with or without tooth whitening. With the help of the dentist, the patient's cosmetic dental goals may be more easily attained.
The disadvantages of dentist supervised whitening systems include higher cost and longer time required to get started and a high level of sensitivity for both the in-office professional whitening and the at-home tray and gel technique. The in-office and at-home tooth whitening systems can cost between $300-$1,000 (sometimes more). In most cases, at-home systems cost less than the in-office systems. With the dentist supervised systems, there may be a wait to get started. You have to schedule an appointment, wait to be seen and evaluated, and then be treated.
Whitening results are best achieved when there is high frequency of use of the whitening agent, in a safe manner without high concentrations of whitening agents that can burn the gum tissue. By increasing the frequency of the whitening by giving the consumer the ability to whiten at home, the regression of the whitening is greatly reduced or even eliminated. That is, high frequency of use and low intensity peroxide gels are more desirable than low frequency of use and high intensity peroxide gels.
It is desired to provide a whitening device (mouthpiece) that is coupled with a delivery system of the whitening gel and an adhesive that keeps a photosensitive agent, such as carbamide or hydrogen peroxide, targeted to the area to be whitened, i.e. to the tooth surface. Such a whitening device preferably causes no harmful breakdown by-products, and is hygienically delivered in a single dose.
Further, it is desired to have an adjustable whitening device (mouthpiece) to accommodate a broad range of different size sets of upper or lower teeth of users. It is further desired that the whitening device seal off the area in the mouth to be treated to reduce the amount of oxygen escape, thus having more oxygen molecules bombard the surface of the tooth for whitening.
In addition, harmful bacteria responsible for causing gum disease in the mouth, specifically, the gram negative anaerobic bacteria, are killed by exposure to electromagnetic radiation in the form of ultraviolet light and heat over 50 degrees C. It would therefore be desirable for a consumer to expose such bacteria to ultraviolet light and heat as well.